Over the weekend, seventh-grader Jake Tutuska and senior David Jensen took 4th place in their respective weight classes at the Division II Suffolk County Wrestling Championships.

Jensen, in only his second year on the wrestling squad, grappled his way to 4th place in the 182-pound class, defeating teammate Harry Hou in the consolation round to earn the spot. Head coach Mark Maningo is amazed at the progress of his senior captain over the last two seasons. “He has only wrestled for fourteen weeks of his life, less with school breaks and injuries. I’m proud of him. I only wish we had him in the program longer.”

While Jensen’s career has closed, Jake Tutuska’s is just beginning, and the future looks promising. Wrestling in the 152-pound weight class, he had to wrestle his way out of the preliminary round since he entered the tournament unseeded. It didn’t take him long. In his first match he pinned a Southampton Mariner in 51 seconds. In his quarterfinal match he upset the 4th-seeded Tanner of Babylon, pinning him as well in 3:25. In the semifinals he wrestled the eventual County Champion, senior captain Ralph Oswald of Hampton Bays, falling 4-9. Oswald would go on to be named Most Outstanding Wrestler of the meet, wrestling less than a week after losing his father.

The loss dropped Tutuska into the loser’s bracket, but he worked his way back into the placement round after pinning a Port Jefferson wrestler at 4:34. In the consolation round Tutuska, exhausted from four other bouts on the day, succumbed to the 3rd-seeded Lewis of Center Moriches to claim the fourth spot. “It was an enormous task,” said coach Maningo, alluding to his seventh-grader wrestling five matches in one day. “The future is bright for him.” While Maningo has had a seventh-grader win a League Championship in the past, never has he had a young wrestler go so far at the county level. There certainly could be some exciting days ahead for Tutuska.

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